Flyers down Crusaders 3-1 Hodges, Okot spark Waynflete

BANGOR – A perfect early goal set up a perfect ending for the Waynflete School boys soccer team Saturday.

As for the perfect ending, that involved the Portland-based Flyers holding the Class D championship trophy aloft after a 3-1 victory over Van Buren in the state final held at Bangor High School.

And the perfect goal?

To Waynflete freshman Lars Okot, it was all in the assist, a left-footed pass along the ground from the middle of the field that curled through several Van Buren defenders directly to its intended target.

To senior striker Richard Hodges, perfection was all in the finish, a 20-yard blast from the right wing that caromed flush high off the inside of the far goal post to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 12:07 left in the first half.

“I made a run on the right side, saw Lars with the ball, gave him a loud yell, and Lars is really perceptive and got it right where I needed it,” Hodges said. “It was a perfect pass, and it felt wonderful to capitalize on it. ”

Okot had gained possession near midfield, and as the Van Buren defense reacted that area suddenly grew more crowded – just the way he wanted it.

“There was really not a lot of space to make the pass, and that’s the best situation,” Okot said. “If they’re close to you, it’s easier to pass the ball away from them. I wanted them to get close and then make my move and get the ball to Richie with an angle for him to shoot at the goal.”

The goal was a defining moment in a contest that had been even to that point. For five minutes later, Waynflete (11-4) scored again, and the two-goal burst of momentum was more than Van Buren could overcome.

“It was absolutely the biggest play of the game in my mind, just because I thought Van Buren carried the play through the first 20 minutes,” said Waynflete coach Brandon Salway.

“As soon as Richard scored, I think everybody took a deep breath and relaxed. Then I thought we played great the final 60 minutes. I thought we kind of carried the play and had more chances. That first goal was definitely the catalyst.”

Sam LaCasse extended Waynflete’s lead to 2-0 with 7:31 left in the opening half. Noah Fralich struck a direct kick from 35 yards out on the left wing to the Flyers’ tallest target in the crease, striker Sloan Critchfield. Critchfield headed the ball toward the far goal post, from where LaCasse headed it into an open net.

“Sloan’s about 6-4, and I usually like to play the ball to his head,” Fralich said. “He likes to mix it up in there. Sometimes it goes straight into the goal, and other times he gets assists like he did today.”

Van Buren, which trailed at halftime of its Eastern Maine championship victory against Bangor Christian a week ago, showed its resilience again in the state final by cutting the deficit to 2-1 on a Tyler Hews goal less than two minutes into the second half.

Stacy Ayotte lofted a left-wing centering pass toward the crease, where Andrew Martin headed the ball to Hews, who was waiting for the rebound at the goal line.

“We never really started playing until the second half,” said Van Buren coach Steve LaPierre, whose Crusaders finish the season with a 15-4 record.

“I didn’t think we played the way we were capable of in the first half. Then in the second half we came out and scored a quick goal, but they were able to counteract that.”

Waynflete’s response came 13 minutes later. It was a virtual copy of the Flyers’ second goal, with Fralich sending a re-start kick to Critchfield in the goal crease. Again Critchfield directed the ball toward the far post, where this time Will Chester was waiting to give Waynflete its 3-1 lead.

“We hadn’t given up a goal in the air all year, and they got two,” said LaPierre. “We’ve been behind several times this year and come back, but they were as quick a team as we played all year, and their defense didn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

That Waynflete defense was keyed by Fralich, a junior stopper who was assigned the task of marking standout Van Buren striker Mahabola Masemola. Masemola, who had scored two overtime goals during the Crusaders’ postseason run to the state final, had few uncontested scoring bids on this day.

“The key was to not allow Masemola to get possession of the ball,” Salway said. “Every time he did get it right at his feet facing the goal he made some big plays. He’s dangerous. But Noah did a very good job of not allowing him to get too many touches on the ball.”